


Imperfect Roads (Only Time Will Tell Remix)

by sebastian2017



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Absent Parents, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Babies, Canon Jewish Character, Erik Has Feelings, F/F, Family Fluff, Ferris Wheels, M/M, Pregnancy, Sex in a Car, Trans Male Character, Underage Drinking, dadneto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-01 00:33:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15131177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sebastian2017/pseuds/sebastian2017
Summary: Raven thinks her little brother needs to have some more fun before leaving to university at the end of the summer. Charles would have agreed a long time ago if he'd known boys like Erik Lehnsherr are involved in having fun.





	Imperfect Roads (Only Time Will Tell Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WaxRhapsodic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaxRhapsodic/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Only Time Will Tell](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8256109) by [WaxRhapsodic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaxRhapsodic/pseuds/WaxRhapsodic). 



> Some notes on this work:  
> \- Erik is a POC in this. I have my reasons. If it really bugs you, then, uh... don't read it.  
> \- Raven is the older sibling in this, for plot reasons. 
> 
> there's a lot of potentially triggering content in this fic, so please heed the list below 
> 
> CW: alcohol, transition mentions, sex (not explcit, but talked about and described vaguely), very vague/brief mention of antisemitism, mentions of racism, pregnancy of a trans male character, anxiety, food, mentions of abortion, a brief scene where misgendering / use of a deadname occurs  
> lmk if anything else needs to be added!

Charles is ready to move away and leave his childhood home. It would be a lie to say he hasn’t been ready ever since he was old enough to have independent thoughts, but with every passing day, the desperation only grows. Some days, he wishes he’d chosen on Oxford for his undergraduate years instead of Columbia, because New York City feels far, far too close still. Charles can’t say for sure what sort of distance will make him finally feel free of his mother and stepfather’s iron fist. However, he’s become increasingly sure that an hour’s drive into the city might not be enough. 

The summer isn’t helping. Charles wasn’t exactly the most social of people in high school, so vacation times have always been long stretches of loneliness. It feels somehow worse this summer. Being so close to a new life has him horribly anxious about these final few months. His older sister Raven already lives on her own, over in Boston, and hearing her stories about how much better it is keep Charles moving forward. New York will be amazing, he knows. He’s already got a roommate picked out for the school year, a lovely, equally nerdy boy named Hank. Charles even has transition plans very close in the horizon, at a place in the city that he’s already made an appointment with in early September to start through an informed consent process. 

Living in New York will be liberating, Charles is sure of that. But before any of that, Charles has to survive the summer, which is where frustrations begin to arise. He wishes Raven would spend summers in New York, like she used to as an undergrad, but he can’t ask that of his big sister. They’ve both always hated this place with a passion and he would never ask Raven to spend any more time here than necessary. She is, however, coming up to visit for a week, and Charles can’t wait. This place isn’t so bad when Raven is around, at least, and it’ll help ease the wait for the school year. 

Charles has a countdown until the day Raven is meant to arrive and when it finally comes, he waits out in the driveway from the second he can start to feel her mind approaching from a few miles away. When she pulls up, Charles barely gives her enough time to park the car and get out before he runs to her, jumping up into a tight hug. “Raven! It’s so good to see you!” 

“You, too, Charles. It always is,” she promises, content to simply stand and hug and laugh together for a few moments. They don’t see each other nearly as often as either would like these days. 

Sharon doesn’t make an appearance the whole time Charles and Raven are moving her bags upstairs and getting her settled in, but neither of them is particularly upset by that. It’s no secret that Raven comes to visit for her little brother and not for their mother. Raven may have to follow some of Sharon’s rules while she’s here - such as not being in her blue form, for example - but there’s silent agreement between all of them that if they can simply ignore each other’s presence as much as possible. One or two formal, quiet dinners are a small price to pay for Raven and Charles to have almost free reign the rest of the time.  

The pair of them spend Raven’s first night at home doing little else other than drinking champagne and gossiping up in Charles’ room. Charles is always acutely aware of how much he misses his sister, but it’s painfully more intense when she’s actually with him. He should enjoy her company while he has it, not think about her inevitable departure again, but he can’t help it. He only hopes it gets better once he’s left the house as well, because a whole lifetime of this will kill him. 

Charles is content to spend Raven’s entire time here like this, gossiping and sipping champagne together. But instead, she wakes him far too early the next day by jumping on his bed and ripping his blanket off. “Wake up! Wake up! Irene is coming over today. You and I are headed on a liquor store run, little brother.”

“Wha’?” Charles tries, to no avail, to wrestle his blanket back, before deciding that surrender is a better option, and simply sitting up. He’s always hated anyone in his room when he’s just woken up, before he has a chance to put a binder on, but he has to remind himself that this simply Raven. If he can’t be comfortable with Raven, life in his dorm will be hellish. “Irene is coming? Your girlfriend Irene? And you think the proper course of action is to go on a liquor store run?”

“Duh. She’s called me up and said she’s coming and it was meant to be a surprise, but she got too excited to keep it a secret and she’s taking me to the state fair and isn’t that just the most romantic thing you’ve ever heard!” Raven sighs, disgustingly love struck, and tosses herself back into Charles’ bed with a hand against her heart. “So obviously state fair means we have to get a proper booze collection to keep in the car’s trunk.”

“ _ Super  _ romantic,” Charles agrees sarcastically. “Maybe I should just stay here instead. I don’t want to ruin your date night.”

“Nonsense, Charles! Half the reason she’s coming is to meet you. And besides, you might have fun for once in your life. There’s more to life than science textbooks and chess club,” Raven says, sounding like she’s imparting something sort of wisdom upon him and not just encouraging him to party more.

It’s useless to argue against Raven when she gets an idea like this, so Charles doesn’t even try. He only sighs as dramatically as he can muster and gets up to take a shower and get dressed. The liquor store doesn’t even open until ten, so there’s no rush, but Raven still insists on being in the car by 9:50. He accompanies her inside, and gets eyed suspiciously by the cashier, but Raven pays, so the overworked, underpaid cashier apparently decides it’s way too early to care. He has a rather convincing fake ID, but Charles is pretty sure it’s going to take testosterone before random people stop assuming he’s a twelve year old boy. In the end, they leave with two bottles of Fireball, a case of Natty Lights, and a handle of Vlad vodka. Raven says she’s preparing him for college life, while Charles only points out how ridiculous it is to purchase so much alcohol for three people, especially when one will have to be a designated driver for the three of them. Raven has a response to this, as she does most things, and scolds him for having such little faith in her ability to make friends anywhere she goes. Sometimes, Charles doesn’t understand how they’re a product of the same family. 

With a trunk full of alcohol, they make their way to pick Irene up at the bus stop. Charles has been hearing about her for ages, but they haven't gotten around to meeting yet and he’s horribly nervous. Raven must have warned her that he’s like a little bundle of nerves, because even after he accidentally knocks over her white cane less than thirty seconds after being introduced to her, she just laughs and wraps an arm around his shoulders in a hug. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Charles. You’re as adorable as Raven said you were,” Irene declares, grinning as she pats his shoulder. 

Charles flushes and glares at his sister. “I’m not adorable! I’m too old to be adorable.” 

“Whatever you say, Charles. C’mon, let’s go get Irene settled at home,” Raven says, simply laughing in his face. It’s the sisterly thing to do. 

Charles drives them home, and almost wishes he hadn’t, because it leaves Raven and Irene perfectly free to be gross and make out in the backseat. ‘We’ll traumatize him,’ Irene says at one point, but Raven soon wins her over with more kisses. Anyone would think Raven had been gone for weeks or months, not a day. Charles doesn’t really understand this whole love thing. He’s had flings and hook ups for fun and to pass the time, as most teenagers have, but love in the way his sister gazes at her girlfriend? Charles doesn’t understand it. The only things in the world he loves are his sister and science. 

They leave the alcohol in the trunk, without much care that they’ll be drinking everything warm later. At the moment, the three of them want nothing more than to laze about for a while. Luckily, this is the perfect house for that, as both Charles and Raven have ridiculously large beds and it’s no trouble at all for the three of them to splay out on Raven’s mattress to escape the heat and kill some time before they head out to the fair. 

“Are you thinking of meeting any friends there, Charles?” Irene asks. “I dreamt last night that you met up with some other kids.”

Raven laughs. “I think that may have just been a dream, babe. Charles is antisocial as they come."

“I am not! I just… like to hang out differently than you do. That’s all. But no, I definitely don’t have plans to meet up with anyone at the fair,” he says.

“Pity. Perhaps you’ll make some new friends.” 

This time, Charles even joins Raven in laughing at the absurdity of that possibility. 

As the sun begins to set, the three of them pile into the car to head to the fairgrounds. Raven has volunteered as designated driver for the night, despite Charles’ protests that he doubts he’ll have much reason to drink. Drinking alone sounds horribly depressing. But Raven insists, so Charles is sent to the backseat on the drive over to the fairgrounds. Raven parks far from the entrance, on purpose, so they can pop the trunk open and sit at its edge to load up on drinks and snacks before they head inside. Charles truly doesn’t want more than maybe the barest hint of a buzz, but he amuses Raven by cracking open one of the Fireballs and taking a few swigs from the bottle.

When she’s apparently pleased that her brother and girlfriend have consumed enough of the alcohol, Raven slings both her arms around the and starts walking them towards the entrance. “All right! So I figured we could get tickets and peruse about the place together, until we find whatever we want to do. And you don’t have to stick by us, Charles, obviously. Go ahead and run off if you spot a friend!” 

It’s highly unlikely, but Charles nods regardless. “Sure. I have my phone if we get separated, and if anything, just… think towards me. I’ll be listening.” 

At the entrance, Raven buys an absurd amount of tickets, funded by what Charles is almost positive is money Raven grabbed out of their mother’s wallet. But he’s certainly not going to snitch. Charles takes his share of tickets and then resigns himself to walking a few steps behind Raven and Irene, who are holding hands and stealing kisses and whispering to each other and generally, being horrifically in love with one another. It’s no wonder he feels like the odd one out amidst them. Charles spots the game booths, which he knows Raven hates, and hurries a few step forwards to grab Raven’s hand and squeeze it as farewell. 

“I’m going to the booths for a while. We’ll meet up later,” Charles promises. 

Raven lets go of Irene’s hand long enough to give him a brief hug. “Sure thing. Reach out if you need anything. Have fun! But not too much fun, Charlie boy.” 

What else can Charles do but roll his eyes? He kisses her cheek and bids Irene farewell before running off to inspect various of the game booths. They’re all rigged to make the players lose, he knows that, but it seems like as a good a way as any to pass some of the time. Though it’s incredibly childish, there’s a large, bowtied teddy bear in one of them that catches his eyes and draws him into one of the games. He hands over two tickets to play and gets four small balls to knock over a pyramid of cans. Predictably, he misses the first two shots and though the last two manage to just barely hit the cans, they barely nudge. 

“Ah, well, better luck next time, kid!” the carnie delivers, a well practiced line, no doubt, and moves on to the next player in line in a heartbeat. 

Charles sighs, looking at the bear with one last longing gaze before starting to walk away. It’s silly for eighteen year old boys to spend their time wishing for teddy bears, anyway. There’s a rattling and clanging noise behind him when he’s only a few steps away from the booth, but Charles pays it no mind, already wondering what other booth he can waste some tickets on for equally rigged games. He doesn’t even notice anyone calling out ‘wait! wait!’ after him until a hand comes down on his shoulder and Charles spins in surprise and panic, only to find himself head to head with a boy, probably no older than him, but certainly taller, gripping the bowtied teddy bear victoriously. 

“I just won this over at that table and, uh, I saw you looking at it, so, um, here you go,” the boy says awkwardly, holding the bear out at arms’ length and towards Charles. 

He should say thank you or just take it or walk away or do any of a long list of logical things, but instead, Charles’ stupid mouth acts before his brain and blurts out, “I’m a boy!” 

Which, from the way the words squeaked out of him, was probably not convincing in the slightest to this lanky teenager in front of him. Charles should be flattered at the attention, and he does find it sort of adorable that this boy is trying to be a gentleman to who he must assume is some lonely teenage girl, but all it really does is crush his spirit. He knows he doesn’t exactly pass, with his height and floppy hair and soft sweaters, but it’s still annoying to go about his life being seen as the wrong person. It’s moments like this that Charles wishes he had a mutation like Raven’s, instead of telepathy that he’s too scared to use half the time. 

In his long moment of self pity, Charles almost misses the way the boy just grins and shrugs. “Then it’s a good thing I like boys, huh?” 

This is certainly not a direction any of these interaction have ever gone down. Charles is almost unsure how to react. He falters, giving the boy a closer look, and this time around, spots the pink triangle patch ironed onto his leather jacket, nestled between a rainbow flag and a Star of David, and right above a German flag. If Charles were the sort of man to make puns, he would say something about this boy wearing his heart on his sleeve. As he looks, he can’t help but also notice how  _ handsome  _ he is and now Charles has even less of a clue why someone like this would stop someone like him. 

In the silence, Handsome Jewish Gay Boy speaks up again, “This is probably super creepy, I’m sorry. I definitely don’t expect anything in return, if that’s what you’re worried about. I would really love it if you took this bear. I’ll give it to you and walk in the opposite direction, if you want.” 

“I…” Finally, Charles snaps out of it and reaches forward to take the bear. It’s even fluffier than he expected, but that might just be the blossoming crush talking. “Thank you. I’m sorry, this was all terribly rude of me. Thank you very much. How’d you even manage it? Those things are always rigged.” 

Handsome Jewish Gay Boy grins with far too many teeth. It should be offputting, but somehow, he makes it work. Charles isn’t surprised. He holds his hand out in front of himself with a flourish and a few coins float out of his pockets, dancing around his hand as he moves his fingers in a rhythmic wave. “They have their tricks, I have mine.” 

“You’re a mutant!” Charles exclaims. His whole face lights up at the revelation. At this point, he’s pretty sure this boy could not get any more perfect, even if about half of what Charles knows about him is what his hopelessly romantic, but still horny teenage self has made up. “I’m a mutant as well. A telepath.” 

“Huh. I’ve got a friend that’s a telepath, as well. I’m Erik,” Handsome Jewish Gay Boy - Erik, apparently - says, holding his hand out towards Charles. 

Charles smiles, taking it in a delicate handshake. “Pleased to meet you, Erik. I’m Charles. Thank you very much for winning the bear for me. Please don’t walk in the opposite direction now, I think I might be heartbroken if you do that.” 

“That sounds perfect. Have you been at the fair long?” Erik asks, beginning to walk wherever Charles leads them. (Which Charles isn’t entirely sure of, either, he just knows he wants an excuse to be around Erik as long as possible.) 

“Oh, no. My sister dragged me along. We only just got here a few minutes ago. That was the first attraction I attempted, in fact.” 

“Lucky me.” 

They wander around the carnival games for a while, walking mostly in circles. Charles finds out that Erik is here with a group of friends from the city, but that they’re all a bit much and he needed some time away to breathe. In turn, Charles shares about Raven and her girlfriend, and the incessant feeling of third wheeling while he was with them. He’s happy for his sister, truly, he just wishes he were meeting Irene under different circumstances. Erik tells him that he’s 19 and rarely leaves the city, and no doubt his friends will tease him for finding some kid from upstate to hang out with; and in turn, he only laughs a little when he hears of how Raven had pushed Charles so incessantly to make some friends, going as far as to being willing to enable copious amounts of underage drinking. By the time they make their third lap around the games, Charles is holding the bear in one hand and Erik with the other. 

“Well, please don’t think I’m using you for your alcohol, but I don’t think any of my friends would say no to that offer,” Erik laughs. 

He shrugs. “They’re welcome to it, if they want it. I don’t know what Raven thought we’d do with all that liquor after tonight. Wanna go find your friends?” 

“Eh, they’ll find me eventually.” Erik shakes his head. “I think for the time being, I’d really just rather spend some more time with you.” 

Charles flushes an embarrassing shade of pink and points out a nearby carousel. “Doesn’t seem to be much line over there?” A few minutes later, Charles is mounted upon a brightly colored horse, with his bear in front of him and Erik on the horse next to his. When Erik reaches across to hold his hand even while the ride starts going around in circles, it’s all Charles can do not to die on the spot. He tries, far too hard, to not make a fool of himself. “So, you said you’re 19? Are you going to be a sophomore in college next year? I’m a freshman at Columbia in the Fall.” 

“Nah. College here is way expensive. I just work at my dad’s auto shop,” Erik answers, proving that Charles can make a fool out of himself even without trying. In his life, it can be all too easy to forget that not everyone graduates from a prep school and is automatically expected to attend a four year university somewhere. 

“Oh. Sorry, I suppose I made a big assumption there.” And before Charles can make a bigger fool of himself, he continues on with, “College ‘here’? As opposed to where else?”

“I’m German,” Erik explains. He grins that too big grin again and Charles is an absolute goner again.

“Goodness. Your parents? Grandparents?” he pries.

“Fuck that, I’m properly German through and through. Born and raised. My parents moved us here three years ago. The climate was sort of taking a turn for the worse and my parents got scared. It’s never been easy being a brown Jew anywhere, but… it’s sort of especially hard to forget what it was like being a German Jew not so long ago. So one summer, my parents just picked up and left. I, personally, don’t think America is much better, but…” Erik shrugs. “My parents are less scared here. I think they just needed to run away from some ghosts.”

“That’s… a lot. Thank you for sharing that with me, Erik.” Charles projects his warmth and gratitude towards him. 

“Enough of all that, though. It’s way too close to killing the mood. Where do you want to head to next, Liebling?” Erik asks as the ride stops. 

He hops off his mechanical horse easily and then helps Charles do the same, only being a little bit subtle as to how it gives him an excuse to get his hands on more of Charles’ body. It all feels like a movie, like a scene out of some stereotypically perfect teenagehood. The sort of teenage years Charles had lost to self discovery and dysphoria and the Markos and strict boarding schools. Tonight feels like he’s regaining all of it back and he wants it to be perfect, which is why, of course, he drags them along to the ferris wheel. 

The ferris wheel cart is an old fashioned design, just enough space for the pair of them with a bar pulled down tight over their laps. Obviously, this is exactly what Charles had in mind when he’d suggested the wheel. Just because he has an innocent look to him at times doesn’t mean Charles isn’t perfectly aware of what he’s doing. He’s a teenage boy. Just because he doesn’t normally go out or do things like this doesn’t mean he doesn’t think about them often. The cart starts to climb with a lurch and Charles lets himself be a bit dramatic, making no effort to keep himself from sliding closer to Erik until their thighs are pressed together and their ankles crossed. 

Erik grins, resting his hand just atop Charles’ knee, at the hem of his shorts. Charles’ skin feels even paler than normal under Erik’s fingers. From here, in close quarters, and sitting so Erik and Charles are a bit more level with one another, Charles notices that Erik’s eyes are a startling green and that there’s a spattering of freckles along his nose and cheekbones, tiny, barely noticeable specks of sepia. Charles can’t help but wonder if Erik is freckled elsewhere as well. As they climb up, the racket and clamor of the fair fades into background noise. It would be a perfect place to talk without having to strain to hear, but Charles has no plans at all to talk. 

Luckily, neither does Erik and when Charles leans in to kiss him, Erik meets him halfway to meet his lips. Charles has kissed plenty of people before, the vast majority of which are terribly overeager and use far too much tongue and leave the both of them sort of gross and wet, as teenagers often do. Erik isn’t like this, and for that, Charles will thank any god who will listen. He leaves Charles wanting more, but without leaving him wanting, and when he nips at Charles’ lip, Charles knows his knees would have quivered were they standing. He’s tempted to drag it over the line to inappropriate and start lavishing Erik’s neck with kisses, but Charles notes with a great deal of regret that they’re beginning their descent back to ground and he’d rather not be spotted necking by whatever innocent children might be walking by. 

And good thing he doesn’t, because almost as soon as they step off the ferris wheel, Erik’s friends were right there waiting for them and would have doubtlessly seen. Erik’s friends were a small group of mutants, which Charles would have been able to guess even if Erik hadn’t told him. One of the group is a tall, broad boy with red skin and a tail, and the sad truth is, most people that hang around anyone with such a visible mutation are likely to be mutants themselves. That was just the unfortunate reality of how things still worked these days. 

One of the group, a girl that Charles recognizes as a telepath from the sudden presence of her mind around them, looks Charles up and down and then back at Erik. “You know, if you’d told us you had a date, we wouldn’t have given you so much grief about disappearing on us.” 

“Not that we would have believed you, Lehnsherr. What sort of person hates themself enough to go out with you?” The red skinned boy smirks at Charles and disappears with a poof, only to reappear right next to Charles, so he can inspect the bear he’s still carrying around. “Did Erik win that for you? Adorable.” 

“Fuck off, Azazel,” Erik mumbles. Charles can’t even be mad because Erik while embarrassed like this is almost as attractive as when he’s standing around, looking all cool and suave. “This is Charles. He and I met over by the games. Try not to be complete and total weirdos.” 

One by one, Charles is introduced to the group of them - Azazel, Janos, Emma, and Angel, all four friends from a mutant community center Erik hangs around in back in Brooklyn. Emma looks him over and asks, “So you’re from Westchester, huh? Is it as boring as it seems to live upstate?” 

“Um… yes and yes. But I’m moving to the city in August!” Charles would really prefer not to be ‘the boring kid from upstate’, even if he winds up never seeing Erik and his friends again after tonight. “But, uh, yeah, living upstate sort of sucks. There’s not much to do other than drink. Which speaking of, um, there’s beers in my car trunk. If you want any.” 

The general consensus is ‘fuck yeah we want beers’ and Charles receives some half-hearted promises that they’ll Venmo him a couple of dollars to pay him back, which Charles just waves away. It feels sort of like buying friends, but Charles just tells himself that it’s the same thing as when socialites throw big, senseless parties with open bars. Besides, Erik holds his hand the entire walk to the back of the parking lot, and he’s much more preoccupied by that than with his friends. As they approach the car, Charles remembers to send a message to Raven to avoid coming back to the car for a while, and then completely shuts her off when she tries to pry for more details. 

Charles pops open the truck and let’s everyone take their pick of alcohol. Eventually, they’re all spread out, sitting at the edge of the trunk and on the ground around the car. There’s technically a guard doing rounds around the parking lot, checking out for exactly this sort of thing, but with two telepaths in the group, it’s hardly even a worry. It’s hardly ten minutes before they’re all cajoling each other into shots and terrible attempts at shotgunning, which is no surprise, considering they’re a bored group of teenagers with unsupervised access to shitty alcohol. Charles is careful not to overdo it, because he’s seen far too well what drinking has done to his mother, but he does let himself indulge until he feels all warm and blurred around the edges. Erik inches closer and closer by the minute, until Charles is practically resting on his lap. 

It’s nearly an hour later, that they’re all just on this side of tipsy, save for Azazel and Janos, who are just about properly smashed. How they made it through so much of the vodka, Charles has no clue. Azazel stands and knocks back what’s left of his drink. “We should - We should go back. And see how many rides we can go on before puking.” 

“That sounds disgusting,” Emma says, getting up and straightening out her clothes even though she, somehow, still looks immaculate. “But I’ll go. I haven’t gotten any new blackmail material on you in a while.” 

“You guys go ahead. Charles and I are going to hang around here a while,” Erik says. Charles doesn’t even need to ask him to elaborate, he knows exactly what that’s supposed to mean. 

Erik’s friends look at the pair of them and walk back towards the fair, cackling the whole way. “Have fun!”

Erik turns back to Charles, suddenly far less sure of himself. “We don’t actually have to do anything or stay if you don’t want to or whatever and like I know it was super presumptions of me to assume and -”

Charles cuts him off by kissing him, wild and wanting like he’d wanted to do back on the ferris wheel. There’s no one nearby and Charles knows it, so he doesn’t feel guilty when he swings a leg over Erik and straddles him. He pulls back a few inches, just enough to actually be able to look at Erik as he speaks to him. “Trust me. You assumed right.” 

“Perfect.” Erik grins at him. He pulls Charles back down, taking advantage of Charles on top of him to better kiss along Charles neck, nipping at a spot just above Charles’ collar. 

Charles stifles a moan and forces himself to think clearly for a second. His future self will thank him, he’s sure. “We should… We should go in the car, Erik. I can keep people from coming and seeing us drinking, but I’m not that good to hide  _ this  _ away.” 

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” Erik groans as Charles gets off his lap, but it’s only another moment before they’ve clambered to the backseat. 

The backseat is cramped, of course, but at least there’s more space than simply sitting on Erik’s lap. Erik hasn’t even fully shut the door before Charles busies himself taking off Erik’s jacket. Leather is a dashing look on Erik, but definitely isn’t as satisfying as the opportunity to run his fingers along Erik’s strong arms. It’s too dark to make out much of anything, but Charles doesn’t need his vision to know that Erik is as gorgeous under his layers as on top of them. Charles is almost embarrassingly eager to get Erik’s shirt off him, but Erik hesitates as he toys with the top button of Charles’ shirt. 

“We don’t have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. You’ll stop me if I do anything you’re not comfortable with, won’t you?” Erik asks. 

Charles can just make out Erik’s eyes in the dark, and the sincerity shining in them. He almost wants to cry, if only because some part of him wishes this were some boy he’s in love with and sees  everyday, not some teenage hookup, because Erik is rather perfect. Charles kisses him again, so he can gather himself enough to answer without his voice faltering. “Of course, Erik. Of course.” 

In truth, most of Charles’ hookups have been ill advised. They’re not all terrible and he probably has no more regrets than any other teenager with absent parents, a liquor cabinet, and emotional incompetency. Most, really, were just rather mediocre. There’s standouts here and there, though, of boys who’d scoffed at his reluctance to undress entirely, or girls who’d acted like he’s a safer version of a sapphic encounter. When Erik undoes the last button of Charles’ shirt and Charles reluctantly asks if Erik mind Charles leaving his binder on, Erik is nothing but  compliant and reassuring. Charles almost cries again. If only every cis gay boy approached casual sex as respectfully as Erik. 

Some time later, when Charles is down to his boxers and binder, Erik shimmies out of his jeans and reaches into his back pocket. He scrambles for one long, long moment, when Charles suddenly feels a wave of disappointment from Erik’s mind. “I,, um, I don’t have a condom on me. I’m used to hooking up with tops that carry Magnums in their wallets to stroke their egos.” Erik laughs breathlessly. With another disappointed sigh, Erik leans down and presses kisses to Charles’ neck, just above his collarbone. The noise Charles emits brightens his spirits marginally. “Sorry, motek. We can do something else?” 

Normally, Charles, whose Grindr profile lists him as a verse top, would take this as a sign from the gods that he’s simply not meant to venture into the world of versatiles today, and simply stray back to familiar territory. But tonight, the alcohol has made him warm, tingling all over, and Erik’s erection straining against his trunks looks like it belongs in Charles’ collection of ‘adventurous’ strap-ons, it’s so thick. “Erik. Erik, love, if your cock doesn’t make its way inside me tonight, I think I might just die. One time can’t possibly be so bad. Come on… Please? You can pull out.” 

Erik’s resolve looks like it might hold out, but only until Charles leans up to give Erik’s earlobe a gentle tug between his teeth. Erik’s absolute mush after that. Good thing, too, because Charles is beginning to suspect he’ll be projecting his horniness  to half of New York if he doesn’t do something about it soon. He wondered, for just a moment, if this is just teenage hormones making him irrational and Erik is really just a mediocre, average fuck. 

But no. Later, when the pair of them are flushed and panting and sated. Charles is positive he hadn’t been exaggerating at all. Erik must surely prefer to bottom usually because few people in this world deserve a cock like that inside them. Charles can think of no other reason and, clearly, he was worthy.  No, Charles doesn’t have a massive ego at all, of course not.  They’ve made a mess back here, and Charles is pretty sure his neck must look like he’s been mauled, but he really couldn’t care less. 

For a while, the only sound coming out of either of them is their panting as they try to catch their breath once more. Erik is the one to finally break the silence, with an almost inaudible laugh. “Shit. I think we’ve definitely made a mess of your nice car.” 

“I’m sure I’ll live,” Charles promises. He wiggles away from Erik for a moment to put his boxers back on, but then goes right back to laying with his head on Erik’s shoulder. There isn’t much space for both of them to lay back here, but Charles just takes advantage of the excuse to be closer to Erik. 

“I’m glad to hear that, you’d be terribly missed.” He laughs. With a pleased little groan, Erik stretches out as much as the space will allow. “We’ll need to go back eventually.” 

“They can spare five more minutes without us.” 

Sure enough, five minutes later, the pair of them is dressed again after cleaning up as best as they could. Charles left the windows open, in hopes the smell of sex won’t be quite so obvious when he comes back with Raven and Irene. Truthfully, he would have greatly preferred to spend far longer just cuddling and making small talk with Erik, but he has to remind himself that this was an indulgence in debauchery, not lovemaking. Already, they’d spent quite a bit of time hidden away in the car. By the time they reach the fair entrance again, Erik’s due to leave in a few minutes, and Charles is overdue to find Raven again, anyway. Charles isn’t quite sure what’s appropriate etiquette to say goodbye for this sort of thing, but Erik beats him to it by leaning down for a kiss, almost laughably chaste considering they’d just fucked in the backseat of a sedan. 

“You said you’re moving to the city soon?” Erik asks.

Charles is careful not to let his hopes up as he nods. “In late August. That’s when I’m starting at Columbia.” 

“Perfect.” Erik grins and brings Charles’ phone to his hand with a quick use of his powers. A few moments later, he returns it to Charles with a new contact created under the name ‘Erik (fair)’. “You should give me a call. Maybe we can see each other again?” 

“I would love that,” Charles agrees. Before Erik can run off to catch his shuttle back to the city, Charles pulls him down for another kiss, decidedly less appropriate than Erik’s had been. 

He watches as Erik walks off, with hickeys, unruly hair, and a stupid grin. Charles doesn’t even want to think of how he looks. Finally, after ignoring Raven’s texts and cutting off her mind for so long, he pulls out his phone to text her, so they can meet up somewhere and enjoy the last hour or two of the night before they have to go home. She sends him a meetup location, after several gifs of people eating popcorn, which Charles is pretty sure means she’s expecting gossip of some sort when they see each other. Charles is already embarrassed, even before she actually sees him. As he approaches their meet up spot, she spots him first and lets out an absolute shriek. Charles already wants to find himself a rock to hide under. 

“Charles! Oh my God, Charles!” As Charles’ shuffles closer, Raven turns to Irene and elaborates, for her sake. “Babe, my baby brother just walked back to us after hours of being MIA with a neck full of hickeys and bedhair. Holy shit, Charles, did you have sex in our car? Is that why you asked me to stay away?” 

“Raven!” Charles groans. He’s pretty sure he’s never been this humiliated in this life. He doesn’t regret it, because Erik is truly far too handsome to regret their escapade, but he does wish his sister would do the polite thing and pretend to have noticed nothing. 

“Oh, don’t ‘Raven’ me. I’m all for it. You deserve a couple of wild teenage memories,” she promises, laughing. “Is the car all gross? You’re disgusting, I am shaming you for that. We all have to drive back in that!” 

“The car is fine, Raven!” Charles mutters. At this rate, there’s no blood left in his body. It’s all too busy turning his face a bright shade of red. 

Irene places a hand on Raven’s arm, and unlike his mean, no good sister, at least attempts to hide her amusement. “I think you’ll have more than enough time to tease him over the week you’re here, love. Give him a break for now.” 

“All right, all right, but do I get to see any pictures of this mystery person that convinced you to act like a teenager for once, Charles?” Raven asks. 

Charles almost tells her to fuck off, but he knows that’s just a childish impulse because of how embarrassed he is to be caught in this situation. So he just nods and pulls out his phone to show her a selfie they’d taken on the ferris wheel before starting to make out. Raven coos over it, gushing that her baby brother found himself a handsome catch, and Charles is quick to correct her that he hasn’t found himself anyone, lest his heart start getting its hopes up. Erik was fun and handsome and lovely, and maybe they would text some more and see each other in New York in September, but for now… Erik was something of life here in Westchester, the part of life Charles couldn’t wait to leave past. 

For now, Charles would go home with his sister, shower, find all his high collared shirts, and sleep. And in the morning, life in Westchester would continue, as dull and sufferable as it always had been, with this last night as nothing but a brief flash in all of it. 

  
  
  


xxxxxxxxxx

 

 

The rest of Raven’s visit was much like all the others, only that Irene was now joining in. Charles warmed up to it eventually, when he got to know her a bit better and no longer felt so much like a third wheel. When the week ended and it was time for Raven to leave, he’d even found that he would miss Irene as well. Without them, the house goes back to being unbearably quiet, day in and day out. The only thing company Charles gets these days is Erik’s messages. Despite Charles’ initial assumption, Erik had actually kept in touch with him after their night in the carnival. It’s been almost a month and a half since the carnival, well into July, but they’re still spending their days exchanging texts and snapchats. The thought that perhaps they’ll see each other when Charles moves to New York. He doesn’t want to get his hopes up, but it’s hard not to when they’re constantly flirting over their messages. 

Even if this winds up being nothing more than just a summer thing, Charles will be grateful for it. At least it’s something to pass the time. Otherwise, days stretch in and out on this property without much to tell the difference. Charles has long since stopped recognizing the difference between days. It’s a miracle he even knows they’re in July. Which is why, when he’d come down with a bug a few days earlier, Charles thought nothing of it. He does find it a bit odd that he’s so fatigued and nauseous these last few days, but with no sign of a fever, but not enough to raise any alarms. He tells Raven as much during their weekly phone call, after filling her in on all the rest of the family gossip, from their mother’s continued drinking to the cook’s divorce. He’s just about to keep going, glossing over the bug he’s caught to move onto topics he finds more significant, but Raven stops him. 

“Have you noticed anything else? Other than just the fatigue and throwing up?” Raven asks.

Charles doesn’t quite understand why her tone is so concerned over a little bout of the flu. “Not really. And like i said, I don’t have a fever or anything, so I’m probably fine. If it doesn’t go away in a few days, I’ll go to a doctor. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Charles.” Raven sighs. “I didn’t want to ask so frankly, but the fair and Erik were just over a month ago, so… have you had your menstruation this last month?”

“Oh. I… Don’t hang up.” The possibility hits Charles like a wall. His cycle has never quite been regular, and that, combined with the lack of structure of days in the mansion, have made it so the thought had never even crossed Charles’ mind that his cycle might be late and the bug might be… not a bug. He keeps Raven on the line as he opens up his tracking app and finds that, yes, his cycle is almost three weeks overdue. It takes every ounce of strength inside him for his voice not to crack as he says, “No, actually. I haven’t… It’s about three weeks late.” 

“Okay. Well… It could be lots of things, but you should go to a pharmacy and pick up a pregnancy test, just in case. Do you want me to drive down to go with you?” she offers. Raven’s remaining perfectly calm, thankfully, because if not, Charles would most certainly be hyperventilating and freaking out right now. 

He scoffs softly. “That’d be a four hour drive, just to accompany me to a drug store. I’m sure I can manage on my own. But… thank you. I’ll let you know if I change my mind.” 

“That’s what big sisters are for, Charles,” Raven assures him. “Don’t hold it off anymore than you need to, okay? Call me if you need anything.” 

Charles promises he will and hangs up. He wants to get up and rush to the drug store, to simply confirm this one way or another and find peace of mind. But he’s too numb to do so. He just sits on his bed, cellphone still on his lap. He wants the reassurance of a firm answer, but he’s too afraid of the answer being yes to actually move. The thought is rather terrifying, that he might be… Charles doesn’t even want to think of the word. Even that scares him. He doesn’t want to think of what he’ll do if it winds up that he actually is… Regardless, it’s silly to sit in horror at possibilities that might not even be true, when he has a perfectly simple way of finding out or not. 

He quells down the anxiety and drives himself to the nearest CVS, where he walks past the family planning aisle about three times, chickening out every single one. Finally, he decides it might not be so bad if he fills his basket with other things to distract from the rest. Charles’ first plan is to go to the candy aisle and get half a dozen chocolate bars. He stops as he’s putting a fourth Twix into his basket and is filled with a sudden paranoia that this will only make him look like a pregnant person with cravings, and hastily returns everything to its spot. Instead, he wanders and simply grabs random things, which is how Charles winds up going to check out with two notebooks, a pack of sharpies, shampoo, a suspicious looking pack of lettuce, plastic sunglasses, and, of course, a pregnancy test in his basket. In the end, the cashier barely glances at the items as she scans them. 

By the time he gets back home, Charles’ phone has lit up with a text from Raven, inquiring if he’s done the test yet, and several texts and snapchats from Erik, wondering if it’s okay, since Charles never goes this long without replying, unless Erik has woken up for a particularly early shift on a day when Charles is sleeping in. Charles promptly ignores all the messages in favor of running up to his bedroom as quickly as he can, to avoid the help, and holing himself up in his bathroom. He doesn’t want to do it. He doesn’t want to take the stupid test. He doesn’t want to take it and find out what part of him already knows. Charles spends, easily, half an hour, doing nothing but sitting and staring at the shower curtain. He hardly even thinks. Charles hasn’t had many moments of feeling such avid detachment since back in Junior High, before he’d gotten full control of his telepathy and Cain still lived with them. But now, time just seems to be passing him by and part of him feels like none of this is even real at all, not even himself. 

He finally snaps out of it after receiving another text from Raven, one prompting him with ‘ _ well???’  _ He follows the instructions on the box, though he’s seen the same stupid scene in about a million romcoms and made-for-TV dramas. He sets it down, waits what feels like an eternity, and only just glances at the test before he throws it in the bin with far too much force than necessary. He takes the second, and does the same, then takes the third, and that’s the last one in the box, but it’s just as well, because he’s crying far too much to even see clearly. Charles tosses himself onto the bed and dials Raven’s number through the haze. 

“Charles? What’s up? Did you take it?” 

“Raven…” It’s just about all Charles can get out at the moment, but it’s enough. 

“Oh, Charles.” Raven sighs, sounding far more sympathetic than judgemental. “I’ll be over as soon as I can. By tonight.” 

“No, no. Like I said earlier… that’s a four hour trip. And for what? To sit and pat my shoulder?” Charles sniffles softly, which probably makes him sound less confident than he intends to. 

“That’s what big sisters do,” Raven says again. “You won’t change my mind. I’m going down. If you really don’t want to see me, I’ll find a room in another wing to stay in, but… I don’t want you to be all alone up there, Charles.”

“Yeah… Okay. If you’re sure,” he agrees. “I’ll see you soon.” 

“See you then. You call me if you need anything.” 

Charles hangs up after that and lays back on his bed for a long while, pretending nothing is going on, or that today is actually yesterday, when none of this was even possibility. His gut reaction is to pour himself a stiff drink, same as his mother always does when she grows frustrated at something. But, of course, he can’t do that. Not now. Erik hasn’t texted again, probably off his lunch break, again, which Charles is thankful for. Thinking of Erik right now… It means thinking about sharing the news with Erik, and Charles is certainly not looking forward to it. 

He’s calmer by the time Raven arrives, but only just barely. At least, he’s no longer laid back on his bed, staring at the ceiling and pretending that waiting long enough will fix all his problems. Sure, sitting wrapped up in his blankets while only half watching The Office isn’t a much better place to be, but even a little improvement is something. Charles makes no attempt to meet Raven at the gate when she arrives, but he lets her in when she knocks at his door. Raven immediately goes to join him on the bed, enveloping him in a tight hug. 

“Hey, Charles. How are you feeling?” she asks. 

Charles just shrugs. “It doesn’t really feel real yet, I guess.” 

“Yeah, I bet not…” Charles’ phone chimes again, no doubt with some notification from Erik. His father’s auto shop closed about an hour ago, so Erik is no doubt back home and wondering why Charles still hasn’t replied. Raven glances at her phone and asks, “Does Erik now?” 

Charles shakes his head. “No. I haven’t told him yet.” 

“Have you thought at all about what you might do?” she asks. 

“Raven… Thank you for coming all the way here to be with me. I do really appreciate it. I don’t know what I’d do if I was all alone. But… for tonight, I really don’t want to think of it at all. I’d much rather we sit together, watch a few episodes of The Office, and say nothing at all about all of this,” Charles pleads, looking desperately towards the television. 

Raven hesitates, but finally relents and nods. “Of course. Of course, Charles. Whatever you want. And I’ll still be here tomorrow morning to talk it over.” 

Charles nods gratefully and hits play on the episode again, purposefully queuing up the most mindless ones he can think of, so he can just have a thoughtless laugh instead of getting all up in his head about this. He’ll have plenty of time to do that. More than likely, he’ll have nine months to do that. He gets it together enough to send Erik a text explaining he’s not feeling so well and is off his phone, but other than that, he does and thinks mercifully little for the rest of the evening.

In the morning, Raven orders breakfast from their favorite brunch place and has it delivered to the mansion, so they can eat it upstairs in Charles’ bedroom. Not that there’s much risk of Sharon interrupting them if they eat in a living area. He’s pretty sure she hasn’t even noticed Raven’s arrival. It’s better that way. Less questions to answer. They don’t talk very much over breakfast, and Charles even manages to keep it all down, so he’s in slightly better spirits by the time they’re done. At the very least, high enough spirits that he thinks he might be able to discuss the issues at hand without completely losing his grip. 

Charles nibbles at his last piece of toast as he gathers up his wits enough to speak up. “I think… Raven, I really don’t think I could bring myself to get rid of it.” 

Raven doesn’t immediately burst into arguments or judgement, which Charles is unspeakably grateful for. “Okay. You have some time to think of it, and it’s okay to change your mind, but okay. We’ll plan around this for now.”

“Thank you, Raven.” Charles leans over and hugs her tightly. He doesn’t know what he’d do without his sister. He’d be a mess, that’s for sure. “I just… I have the means for it, you know? Even if Sharon finds out and wants nothing to do with me, I still have my trust fund, and I just… I can’t bear the thought of taking away a possible little mutant from the world when I don’t have to.” 

“I know, Charles. You’ve always had a heart to big for one,” she agrees, stroking his arm gently. “But don’t think you have to do anything, okay? You have no obligations except to yourself.” 

“I know. I know. I’ll defer my admission to Columbia, probably, for next school year. The baby would be six or so months old by then, anyway. And I could rent an apartment for us and hire a nanny or something.” Or Erik’s parents, who Charles has heard so many lovely things about, could help with childcare, but Charles doesn’t want to hold his hopes up that there’ll be anyone but himself involved in all of this.

Raven has always been able to see straight through him, though. “And Erik? Is there space for him anywhere in this?” 

“Of course… If he wants it,” he says softly. 

“He better.” she scoffs. “This is just as much his responsibility as it is yours and if he disagrees, you give him my number. I’ll give him a piece of my mind.” 

“As much as I appreciate the offer, I can take care of myself, Raven.I’ll talk to Erik about it and if I need to, change the plans. But if not… well, I’d rather be prepared,” Charles explains. 

“Of course. You do need to talk to him soon, though. You know that, don’t you?” she tells him. 

“I will. I just… I’m too scared of making a trip all the way down to the city just to have Erik send me away or tell me he doesn’t want anything to do with this. And I know I can’t text him, but…” He sighs. It’s too much for him to stand any of it. 

“Maybe a phone call?” Raven suggests. “It’s not ideal, obviously, but it’s a compromise. At this point, I think it matters more than anything else that he simply knows.” 

“You’re right. I’ll call him today. Just… not right now.” He’s managed to keep his breakfast down so far, but he think if he calls Erik now, it might all come right back up anyway. 

“Sure. How about we just relax for now? Have some tea and Netflix?”

Most of the morning is wasted like this, drinking endless mugs of chamomile and watching stupid shows on Netflix. At least, it’s good at its intended purpose and calms Charles down slightly in the lead up to his call. At Charles’ insistence, Raven leaves to go back home in the mid-afternoon. He’d appreciated having her here for the initial shock, but now he needs some space. He doesn’t want her hanging around the corner, trying to listen as he speaks to Erik. He definitely doesn’t need her there if things go awry and he winds up needing a good long cry over Erik. 

Charles feels her mind as she drives away, until she’s out of his range. It’s about as long as he can postpone this thing anymore. It’s already past the end of Erik’s work day, so he can’t even fall back on the excuse of not wanting to distract Erik while he’s busy with machinery. Briefly, uselessly, Charles’ checks on his mother’s mind to make sure she won’t choose now to make her presence known and interrupt. But no. She’s already nearing the end of a bottle of wine and Charles doubts she’ll be moving past anywhere other than her bed and her bathroom for the rest of the day. Still, Charles’ locks his bedroom door and burrows under his Columbia hoodie and his duvet. It makes him feel safer in a silly way. Finally, he dials Erik’s number. 

“Hello?” Erik answers, after barely the first ring has gone by. 

Charles is hit by a whole new wave of anxiety. “Hi, Erik. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” 

“Not at all, I’m just heading home. But of course I have time to talk to you. And, hey, sorry about blowing up your phone yesterday. You told me you’d been sick and then disappeared all day, and I guess I just got a bit worried,” he apologizes. 

Erik Lehnsherr has absolutely no right to sound so adorable and flustered over the phone. Charles absolutely never stood a bloody chance. “It’s fine, I get it. It’s kinda cute. Listen, um… I kinda have something really big to tell you. Are you on your bike? It’s probably better if you pull over.”

“Um… Okay. Sure. Give me a second.” On the other end of the line, there’s a bit of a clatter, some cars honking, and Erik cursing a few people off, until finally, he speaks up again. “All right. I pulled over. What’s up, Charles?” 

“Erik…” Charles takes a deep breath and finally blurts it out. “Erik, I’m pregnant.” 

  
  
  


lllllllllllllllll

 

  
  


“Erik, I’m pregnant.” 

Suddenly, Erik is very glad he took Charles’ advice and actually pulled over into a little park on his way home, instead of lying and simply continuing forward in his bike ride home. He would have crashed into some unsuspecting pedestrian if he’d just kept moving forward, no doubt about it. Even standing still as he is, the frame of his bicycle starts to wither and crush like a soda can. Erik stumbles towards a bench to sit and regather himself, lest he mangle some non-metal aspect of his bike and find himself without a ride home. 

His silence must have stretched on longer than he’d realized, because Charles speaks up again, in a shaking voice that fills Erik with guilt. “Erik? Are you still there?” 

“Yeah, yeah. Shit, sorry. Just… needed a second to make sure I heard you right,” he apologizes. “So… you’re sure?”

“I have to head to a gynecologist and get bloodwork done to really confirm it, but my period is three weeks late and I took three over the counter tests and they all came out positive, so…” Charles sighs. “Yeah.” 

Even over the phone, Erik can practically hear how nervous Charles is. He can’t really blame him. Erik would have never worked up the nerve to actually make a call like this. Least of all if he were in Charles’ shoes. He’s suddenly hit with a bout of realization that no matter how jarring this must be for him, it’s a million times worse for Charles. Erik isn’t the one with a baby growing inside him right now, he’s not the one who might be dealing with pregnancy and all its side effects for the next nine months, and he’s certainly not the one trying to piece together being a man and being pregnant all at once. It’s not that Erik thinks pregnancy is inherently for women, or that this makes Charles any less of a man - he’s about as radical a queer as they come, how could he go and think that? - but he’s under no illusions that its an opinion shared by the world at large. He can’t imagine how Charles must be feeling right now. 

“Charles, are you okay?” he asks. Mentally, Erik is already debating whether he can convince his father to lend him the car so he can drive up to see Charles. 

This was, apparently, not a question Charles had anticipated, going by his stuttered out, “What?” 

“I mean, I don’t want to assume I know what you’re feeling or anything, but I can’t imagine it’s great. Obviously, I don’t fully understand things to do with dysphoria and all, but if you need someone to vent to… I’ll listen,” he promises. 

“You’re not… mad?” Charles asks. 

What’s Erik supposed to do, but scoff? “Mad? Charles, it sort of takes two to wind up in this situation. I’m not going to try to pin it all on you or something.” 

“I’m the one who insisted we keep going without a condom, though…” 

“Yeah, and I could have just as easily insisted otherwise or stopped. This isn’t on you, Charles.”

Erik, of course, wants to ask if Charles knows what he’ll do about it, but he doesn’t want to sound rude or eager by just straight out asking. He also doesn’t want to sound like he’s trying to goad Charles into doing one thing over the other. In truth, while the thought is sort of terrifying to Erik, he wouldn’t be opposed to keeping the baby. It would be hard work and Erik would probably never hang out with his friends again over the next few months from how many hours he’d be working in preparation, but… Erik’s always wanted to have kids, even if these are less than ideal circumstances. But it’s Charles’ decision, ultimately. He’s the one who’ll have to carry the child, after all. Erik feels he’s not really in a position to push Charles any which way. 

“I’m coming into the city tomorrow,” Charles goes on. “For a doctor’s appointment. Maybe we can see each other? Get a chance to talk in person?” 

“Of course. I can go to you, also. Tonight, even. I could be there in two hours,” he offers. 

Charles’ sigh sounds far away on the other end of the phone. “That’s… a sweet offer. But I really would rather be alone tonight, Erik.” 

“Of course… I understand. You’ll call, though? When you’re around tomorrow? And if you change your mind?” Erik asks. 

“I will,” he promises. “Thanks… Thanks for taking it well, Erik. I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

“No doubt about it.” 

They say their goodbyes and hang up after that, but Erik stays seated on the bench for a while, simply in numbed shock. That was the last thing Erik had expected when he’d answered Charles’ call. He has to pull it together, quickly, seeing as he’s expected home by dinner time. But he’s just found out he might be a father in less than a year’s time. Eventually, Erik gets tired of seeing how the sun continues to set while he sits around, so he fixes up his bike frame and pedals the rest of the way home. His father has beat him home, a rare occurrence. The only reason Erik bikes home instead of catching a ride with his father is because of the extra hour Jakob tends to spend at the auto shop squaring away the accounts. 

Still, he makes it in just as dinner is being served, so he won’t get interrogated too harshly as to his whereabouts. A simple excuse of getting caught up enjoying the nice weather is enough to get his mother off his back. Or at least, would have been enough, if Erik doesn’t go on to spend all of dinner distracted, staring at corners of the wall. When dinner’s over, his mother stops him after he drops his plate in the sink. 

“Erik… Are you alright, boychik?” his mother asks, reaching forward and grabbing his wrist gently to hold him in place. 

Under any other circumstances, his mother is the first place Erik seeks out to spill his heart out when things get difficult. But this… This isn’t his secret to spill just yet. So Erik only nods halfheartedly. “Perfectly fine, Mama. You always worry too much.” 

“I worry too much because you spend all dinner with that mopey look on your face,” she says, reaching up and patting his cheek lovingly. “Is this about that boy you’ve been texting?”

“Ma…” He groans. His mother is too attentive for his own good. He can never get away with anything. “Everything is… fine, okay? If things change, you’ll be the first person I go talk to. I promise.” 

“You’re a good boy, Erik. Any mother would be proud.” Edie leans forward to kiss his forehead before letting him go of, finally, to seek refuge in his room where he doesn’t have to pretend there’s nothing amiss. 

Needless to say, he’s absolutely wracked by guilt to know his mother might not think the same about her good boy if she knew the whole truth. 

Aside from a brief pop in to his parents’ room to tell his father he’s had an emergency come up and is taking the day off tomorrow, Erik doesn’t leave his room the rest of the day. It’s simply much easier inside his room, without having to worry or care about his face giving away any of his secrets. He’s gone by breakfast the next morning, even though he and Charles aren’t due to meet up until lunch time. He just doesn’t think he’ll be able to stay at home without going absolutely crazy in his thoughts. Much better to pack up a bagel for breakfast and go wander the park and subways for a while. Traveling to nowhere through the trains has always calmed him down on rough days, but he’s too nervous of missing a text or call from Charles to spend too much time going back and forth through subway routes. 

Finally, just past noon, Erik exchanges a few texts with Charles and they meet up in a cafe on the Upper West Side. Erik would expect no less from Charles. As soon as Erik comes in and spots Charles sitting in a table off a corner, Erik rushes over and envelops Charles in a tight hug. 

“Hey, you,” he says, kissing his cheek and pulling back. “Good to see you.” 

Erik pulled back from the hug too early, it seems, because Charles immediately tugs him back down and clings tight for a long moment. After another moment, Charles mumbles against his shoulder. “It’s good to see you, too, Erik. Even under… less than stellar circumstances.” 

“I know. Are you… comfortable talking about that here?” Erik asks, glancing around the cafe. He certainly won’t see anyone he knows here, but he can’t say the same for Charles. In Charles’ shoes, he’d certainly be mortified if news like this came out public after being overheard at lunch. 

Charles taps his temple gently. “I think they’ll find we’re not worth focusing in on amidst the rest of the establishment’s chatter. Unless, you’d rather not talk over lunch, which… I’d understand.”  

“If you’re alright with it, I’d really rather we just talk about it. It’s all I’ve been thinking about since you’ve called,” he admits. 

“Of course we can talk about it.” Charles is quiet for a long moment, simply sitting in front of Erik and inspecting the menu to prolong the silence. When he finally speaks up, it’s painfully quiet. “Erik… I want to keep it.” 

Erik breathes out a sigh of relief that releases tension in his body he hadn’t even been aware he was holding in. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that. Me too, Charles.” 

“Really?” Charles asks. He’s radiating his relief; Erik can feel it at the edges of his mind. “I really wasn’t sure you would.” 

“It’s your choice, Charles, and I know these aren’t the best circumstances, but… I want to do this. I want to put in the work and have this baby,” he insists. Erik reaches across the table and takes Charles hand in his. “I’m not going to leave you to fend for yourself in any of this. I promise.” 

“Thank you, Erik. We’ll be just fine, us two,” Charles promises. “I don’t mean to sound obnoxious, but… I’ve had sole access to my trust fund since I turned 18, so even if my mother could be bothered to find out about any of this and try cutting me off, it should all still work itself out, at least financially. So please don’t feel some sort of burden on your shoulders to have to be the sole provider or anything.” 

A few times, they’ve discussed, a few times, Charles’ family and the old money he comes from. Erik has heard enough of it to know of the many ugly sides of it, from Charles’ alcoholic mother, and the Markos’ many abuses, to the complicated legal battles following Kurt Marko’s death when the Marko estate had attempted to take just about everything the Xaviers had, from money to Brian Xavier’s research. Erik’s heard enough that at the mention of a trust fund, his first reaction  _ isn’t  _ to roll his eyes and sneer about little rich white boys and their problems. 

Still, no matter how much he might have heard, he couldn’t have imagined that it was a trust fund of the sort one could simply live off and raise a child off without concern. And from the way Charles hardly even blinked at the suggestion they tap into his trust fund for support… Erik had a feeling it was exactly that sort of trust fund. He had a hard time even wrapping his head around that sort of money, but at least it made actually keeping this baby seem like a more likely reality, instead of simply a childish fantasy. 

Erik nods, slowly. “Okay… Well, I guess we’ll sit down at some point and work out the numbers. For now, though, I care a lot more about how you’re doing. How was your appointment?” 

There’s still a layer of uncertainty, but everything seems much easier now that they know they’re on the same page. Everything this place serves seems too leafy or gentrified, but Erik finds something eventually and the both of them have a much lighter chat over their lunch. Charles shares a bit about the doctor’s appointment, but also the sort of things they used to constantly talk about before this came up, like football and books and mutant activism. An hour later, as they walk out hand in hand, Erik breaches the baby topic once more. 

“Does anyone else know yet?” he asks. 

Charles nods. “Raven does. She’s the one who put the pieces together and suggested I take a test. Other than that… no. I don’t have many people to tell. Have you?” 

“Of course not. It wasn’t my news to share. Not without your permission,” Erik says, squeezing Charles’ hand. “But… if you don’t mind… I do want to tell my mom as soon as I can.” 

“Will she be mad?” Charles frowns, staring down at their shoes as they walk. “I haven’t even met her - we’re not even properly dating - and look at me. Making her baby boy a father.” 

“I don’t know how she’ll react, but I tell her everything. I’ve probably told her worse. It’ll be okay. And for what it’s worth, I had every intention of dating you proper when you moved to the city,” he insists. “We’re just… doing it all mixed up now. That’s all.”

Charles laughs softly and nods. “That’s one way to put it. Tell your mum, if you’d like. Your family will find out eventually, after all.” 

They walk around idly for a while longer, during which Erik just enjoys Charles’ company and tries to focus on little things instead of the big, scary future. They’re having a baby together, and then raising said baby together; and that’s at least 18 years of all the hard work, but realistically, the rest of their lives. Even if things end up awful between the pair of them, they’re stuck together for life now. Erik has always been a quietly religious man, preferring to let most people live with their assumptions that someone like him couldn’t possibly believe in a higher power. At this moment, though, he would gladly admit to anyone that he wonders if this whole thing is some sort of setup by Gd, meant to bring the pair of them together. 

After they can’t possibly keep walking without a purpose, Charles denies Erik’s invitation that he come have dinner with his family, which Erik can’t quite blame him for. He’d be pretty terrified of meeting Charles’ family, even if the entire family wasn’t one mid-20s sister and an alcoholic mother, but especially if the family dinner meeting them all was a Shabbat dinner. Still, Erik walks Charles back to his car and gives him an especially fond kiss before sending him on his way. When he gets back home, he’s far less wound up than he’d been last night, and it shows. 

His mother smiles at him as he comes in through the door. “You look happier. Good day?” 

“You could say that…” Erik agrees. He’s always told his mother everything in his life, but this is certainly on another level than telling her the first time he got drunk at a party or using her as a shoulder to cry on after a mistaken hookup. “I got some news yesterday. That’s what had me all shaken up.” 

“Oh? And is it the sort of news you can share with your Mama?” Edie prompts. 

He sighs a bit, grateful that his father is still at work and his sister hasn’t arrived yet for her weekly visit. This would be much more awkward if Erik had to pull her aside to a different room. He pulls up one of the kitchen stools to the counter she’s preparing dinner on. He should probably offer some help, but he should also probably not be near any sort of kitchen equipment until his mind is clearer than this. “You know that boy I’ve been texting? That you mentioned yesterday.” 

She pauses in chopping some onions for a moment, so she can smile up at him. “Your boyfriend, yes.” 

“My  _ sort of  _ boyfriend, Ma,” Erik corrects. This story would probably be a bit better if Charles really was his boyfriend, but he’d feel even worse if he lies to his mother through embellishment. “But, yeah. Charles. So, um, you know I mentioned he’s trans and all, that.” 

Erik must look, somehow, even more nervous than he feels, because Edie puts down her kitchen knife and wipes her hands off to pull up a stool and sit across from him as well. She actually stops the dinner making for a while, which is always a surefire sign that something is amiss in the Lehnsherr family. She hadn’t even stopped cooking the time Erik had admitted to trying some cocaine at a party once. “I remember all that, yes. What’s wrong, boychik?” 

“Mama… Charles is pregnant. And, um, the baby’s mine,” he admits. Erik lets out a long, shuddering breath as he does. He’s never, in all his lie, felt anything other than safe in his talks with his mother, but that’s an intimidating sentence to say aloud. Regardless of who he’s speaking with.

“Oh, Erik…” His mother gasps softly, bringing a hand up to her mouth. Doubtlessly, she never thought that among her two children, it would be her gay son coming home with an accidental pregnancy one day. Edie’s shock wears out quickly and before Erik can truly even comprehend that she’s moving, she’s come around to the other side of the counter to wrap him up in a hug. “Oh, my baby boy. No wonder you were so wound up yesterday. How long had you been carrying that inside you, Schatz?” 

“Not long, Mama. I only found out yesterday,” Erik explains. He hugs her back and leans down far enough to rest his chin on his mother’s shoulder. His mother’s hugs have always calmed him down. He’s glad she hasn’t chosen now to become the sort of mother who yells and chastises over this sort of thing. “We met up today and talked about it, and… we’re going to keep the baby, Ma. And I know it’s going to be a ton of work and money and that I’ll never sleep again, but… me and Charles are going to do it.”

“You’ve always been eager to grow up, haven’t you?” she murmurs, pulling him back and placing a hand on his cheek as she looks up at him fondly. “Well, you know that your family is always here to support you, in anyway at all. Even if that’s helping you get on your feet while you support a family of your own.” 

Erik knows not to push his luck, but still, he asks, “You’re not… mad?” 

“It’s not perfect, of course, but your father and I met younger than you are now and I knew by the first week that I was going to spend the rest of my life with him. I used to walk around with that same look on my face as you do whenever tha phone of yours dings. I trust that you know the decisions you make. I raised you and your sister to be able to make your own choices now that you’re grown. My job now is to stand back and support you,” Edie says. 

“I love you, Ma. You know that, don’t you?” Erik sighs and hugs her again, before she finally slips away again and returns to her cooking. 

“You should bring Charles around for dinner someday. I’d love to meet the boy that’s finally giving me grandbabies. And who manages to put up with you!” she teases. 

“Ma!” Erik groans goodnaturedly. “How am I meant to bring him ‘round to dinner when you’re going to tarnish my reputation like that? But I did invite him by today. He was just… overwhelmed, I think. He’ll come around sooner rather than later, I’m sure.” 

“Good. I can’t wait to meet him. And, Erik, I know this is all very new and you’re both still trying to make sense of it all, and while I know you well enough to know when you’ve set yourself on a decision… well, babies are expensive,” she starts. “Your father and I don’t have the fanciest of places, but if Charles needs a place to stay, he’s welcome here, and while there isn’t quite space to raise a child here, I’m sure Ruth wouldn’t mind giving up her guest room as a nursery for a year or two. Until you and Charles figure things out.”

“Mama. Charles is… rich. Very, very rich.” It’s not quite the most polite way to put it, but Erik can’t think of any other way to properly get across a wealth even he doesn’t quite understand yet. “I’m sure he’ll be absolutely endeared by it, and I might try to convince him to take you up on it, because as willing as I am to learn all about being a father, it doesn’t change that I know absolutely nothing about it now. However, while I’ve been sort of intimidated to ask, I’m pretty sure Charles’ family already has an empty apartment or two in the city. So, I think we’ll be fine on that end. Hopefully.” 

“Oh. Oh my. You do always find yourself in the most interesting of situations, don’t you, Erik? Rich or not, I want to meet him. Now, go get changed into your nice clothes and come help me with dinner. Your father’s running a bit late, so time’s a bit pressed between dinner and services.”

Erik leans across the counter to kiss her cheek and rushes off to change. He doesn’t know what he’d do without his mother. Life would certainly feel much rockier without her around. 

  
  


lllllllllllllll

  
  


August comes soon enough, just a month later, and it already feels like it’s been the most eventful month of Erik’s life. It hadn’t taken long for them to tell everyone important in their lives the news. Charles only had Raven to tell, who had found out as soon as Charles had. He’d told Erik that he has no plans of telling his mother and, hopefully, never having her meet the child at all. Erik knows enough about the woman to not press the issue. As for Erik, after his mother, the two most important people to tell are his father and sister. His father had clapped him on the shoulder and lamented he had no more little children anymore. Ruth had cheered in the hope that this might get their mother off her back about having grandchildren any time soon, but promptly hugged him and promised to stay by his side once her celebrating was through. Erik knows he’s lucky. All the money in the world can’t buy a family like this. 

But for all Charles talks about how wonderful his family is, it still takes until almost halfway through August to convince Charles to meet them. Charles is spending far more time in the city now, so Erik can actually take him out on proper dates now, not just an endless stream of snapchats and texts. Erik makes plenty use of that in his argument to get Charles to meet his parents, reminding him that pregnancy or not, Erik would have wanted Charles to meet his parents regardless. It’s this argument that eventually wins out and gets Charles to agree, and come by for a family dinner one day. Erik is kind, even, and makes sure it’s just a weekday dinner that Charles comes to, instead of Shabbat, because the last thing he wants is to scare Charles away. 

Charles makes his way into the city by mid-afternoon, so Erik can meet up with him beforehand. They meet up a few blocks from Erik’s flat, in a small park there. The moment he spots him, Erik can’t help but grin and rush the last few steps to greet him with a kiss. It’s all a bit foolishly primitive, but there’s a part of him that lights up when he sees Charles, thinking of the fact that their child is there as well. “Hey, Charles. I’m glad you could make it. Ma’s been looking forward to it.” 

“It was sweet of her to invite me. I didn’t bring wine or anything,” he says apologetically. “I wasn’t really sure what to make of all the different kosher certifications, so… I decided it was safer to just not to.” 

“Don’t worry about it. Mama would have probably insisted you didn’t need to, anyway,” Erik assures him. He reaches down to take Charles’ hand and laces their fingers together for the stroll back home. “How are you feeling today?”

“Good. Better. The nausea hasn’t been so bad this week, which I couldn’t be more grateful for.” Charles chuckles softly, squeezing Erik’s hand. 

“Good! That’s good. I told Mama to go a bit easy on the spices for dinner tonight, so your taste buds are safe with me,” Erik teases. 

Charles just snorts softly. “So considerate, my brave gentleman of a boyfriend.” 

Erik kisses him briefly before he can continue to tease him. They go the rest of the way to Erik’s home, where things are, predictably, a bit wild. His mother is scurrying to finish up dinner, his sister is busy setting the table with their nice dinner plates, and his father is ‘tidying up’ the living room (though they’re all perfectly aware that he’s paying far more attention to the sports channel playing on the television). Erik holds Charles’ hand even tighter now knowing perfectly well that his family could be a bit overwhelming at times. 

“Ma! Erik’s back with his boyfriend,” Ruth calls back into the kitchen. She gives Charles a look over and then shouts again, “He’s cute, waaay out of Erik’s league.” 

“Ruth!” Erik glares at her as he ushers Charles into the kitchen towards his mother, hoping she will a bit less loud and a bit more tactful. 

She, of course, isn’t. Upon spotting Charles, Edie gasps and steps towards them, pulling Charles into one of her great big hugs and kissing his forehead. “It’s so wonderful to meet you, Charles. I swear, my boy has been smiling more these last two months than in the last nineteen years.” 

Erik has to give Charles credit for managing not to look completely like a deer in headlights. “Oh, thank you. Erik always speaks such wonders of you, it’s lovely to finally meet you in person.” 

“The first of many family dinners together, I hope,” she says, smiling at him before letting go of his shoulders once more. “Dinner will be ready soon, if you’d like to sit and wait for it.” 

There’s not much of a choice, even though Erik would like to hide Charles away from his family long enough for the initial shock of meeting a group of Lehnsherrs to wear off. He ushers Charles over to the dining table, sitting down next to him. Ruth is sat across from them, while his father has disappeared into the kitchen as well, likely to help his mother with bringing the food out. Ruth looks at the pair of them, likely without any sort of ill intentions, but as with all siblings, even just a look is enough to set Erik’s nerves. 

She winds up to be only weighing the mood before she continues her joking. “Charles, I know we’ve just met, but trust me, this baby is so lucky. It’s going to have the coolest aunt in the world.” 

“You know, my sister said almost the exact same thing after the shock wore off,” he says, laughing softly. 

“I’m sure I’ll meet your sister eventually. Mama absolutely loves having hosting big family events,” Ruth says. “She’s absolutely ecstatic about this. I keep reminding her most moms in this scenario would be a little put off, but she cares very little apparently. Too busy planning all the tiny onesies she’s going to buy.” 

“That’s really lovely. Erik has a wonderful family…” Charles agrees. 

Erik has already warned his family that Charles isn’t exactly in the same situation and that they should probably keep mentions of mothers or fathers or stepbrothers to a minimum. He takes this moment to scowl at his sister and nudge her cellphone in her pocket to remind her of this. 

Ruth rolls her eyes at Erik, but jokes, “You should see all the knitting projects Mama’s undertaken. I don’t have a clue what we’ll do if the baby is born with a tail or four arms or something.” 

“Then we shall find some other little baby to give everything to and I’ll make a whole new set, of course,” Edie declares as she comes in, carrying all the dishes of food with her. 

Jakob is a few steps behind her, with a pitcher of water. “You should know better than to question your mother’s plans, Ruthie,” he says, amused. After taking his seat at the head of the table, Jakob leans forward to shake Charles’ hand. “A pleasure to finally meet you, young man. So you’ll be the one giving me and Edie our first grandchild, huh?” 

“Yes… I suppose so,” Charles says with a nervous laughter. 

Erik groans, glancing around the table at his family. “Do you think we can manage to find anything else in the world to talk about other than the baby?” 

“There’s no need to get defensive, Erik. Your father and I are simply excited to welcome a new little one to the Lehnsherr clan,” Edie soothes. “I hope you’re not put off by it, Charles? We can leave it for another time, of course.”

In Erik’s head, Charles says, ‘ _ as sweet as you are standing up for me, Erik, I can defend myself’.  _ Out loud, “No, it’s okay. The longer we’ve known, the more excited I’ve gotten, as well. It’s still early on, of course, and there’s about a million conversations left to discuss, but we’re both rather set on raising the baby as Jewish. I’m afraid I’m not too well versed on all that will entail, but I’m very eager to learn.” 

“Oh, that’s fantastic news! You should come to services with us someday,” she suggests. 

Erik places a hand on Charles’ knee and squeezes gently. Charles is very good at making charming conversation, but Erik is sure he’s intimidated by this whole deal. “The food’s growing cold. There’s plenty of time to make plans later. How about we eat?” 

Thankfully, they all take it for the change of topic it is and for a few minutes, the only noise is of plates being served and polite, throwaway comments about how good the food is. When they’re all served and beginning to eat, his father speaks up, “So, Charles, Erik mentioned that you’re going to Columbia? That’s very impressive.” 

Erik wishes they were talking about the baby again. Despite Charles’ constant assurance that he doesn’t mind, and even the comfort he projects to his mind right now, Erik will never not feel guilty about being partly at fault for Charles putting off his university career, when he’s clearly a genius with a bright future ahead of him. 

“Oh, thank you, sir. I’m deferring my admission until next year, so having the baby won’t interrupt anything and I have some time to be around for the first few months,” Charles explains. “But I’m very excited. I’m hoping to specialize in genetics eventually. My father did similar research before passing away, and I’ve always been fascinated by him.” 

“Rich, cute, and smart? I  _ knew  _ you were out of Erik’s league, but I had no idea how far out you actually are!” Ruth exclaims. Their parents scold her for being rude, but she just laughs it off. 

Charles grins, embarrassed. “Oh… I think Erik is more perfect than I could have ever dreamt up.” 

Erik almost misses the knowing look his parents exchange. Almost. 

Dinner, thankfully, passes by without any major incident. Ruth doesn’t say anything too humiliating, nor do his parents bring out old baby pictures of him. It’s a win, as far as Erik’s concerned. When they’re done eating, Erik manages to escape with Charles to his bedroom for a while, instead of getting roped into cleanup duty or some post-dinner baby talk in the living room. Erik shuts the door with his powers, so he doesn’t have to waste even a moment before pulling Charles into a hug and onto his bed with him. Erik kisses him soundly before pulling back and setting a hand under Charles’ shirt and on his abdomen, which Charles has promised he doesn’t mind, so long as it’s not in public. Charles isn’t quite showing yet, certainly not over his clothes, and it’s something he doesn’t want to particularly rush along. Erik knows those months further along will be difficult for both of them, but especially Charles. 

“I’m sorry my family is so crazy, Charles,” he apologizes. “They mean well. Truly.”

Charles rolls his eyes and kisses Erik’s cheek. “Don’t be silly. I love them. If I had a family like yours… I’d never shut up about how much I love them.” 

“You do have a family like mine, Charles, because they’re your family too,” Erik promises. On that, he has no doubt his family will agree. They’ve taken to Charles remarkably quickly. Though Erik can’t fathom how someone wouldn’t take to Charles quickly. 

“Oh, Erik.” Charles sighs happily and cuddles closer to him. Erik’s bed is just a twin, nothing like the monster bed Erik has seen on his handful of visits to the Xavier estate, but it’s all the better for keeping Charles up close against him. “I love your parents. I can see why you weren’t scared to tell them.” 

“Yeah… So you’re still not telling your mother?” Erik asks. He won’t push Charles towards it, of course, but it’s difficult for him to imagine having such little trust in a mother, someone who’s meant to have the most unconditional of loves. Erik also has a hard time imagining how to keep something of this magnitude a secret for so long. Then again, on his visits to Charles’ home, he had neither seen nor heard even a trace of Sharon Xavier’s presence, despite Charles insisting she was around, so he believes Charles when he says it’s possible. 

Charles laughs, bitter and unhappy. “Erik, while I hold nothing but love for you and your family, if my mother found out about her mixed race, Jewish, likely mutant grandchild born out of wedlock… she would kill me, and then kill herself, so she wouldn’t have to live with the shame of it all.” 

“Right.” Erik winces, not because he particularly cares about Sharon Xavier’s opinion of him, but because he hates to think of Charles growing up in a house like that. 

Charles must get a peek of his thoughts, because he leans up and kisses Erik again. “Don’t worry about it. I have a better family now.” 

“Yeah, you do. Now, let’s go back outside too them, before they start to think we’re making another baby in here or something.”

“Erik!” 

  
  


xxxxxxxxxxxx

 

At the beginning of summer, Charles thought he would be counting down the days until moving into his dorm in Columbia. Clearly, this winds up not being the case. Instead, the countdown becomes the days until he moves into the Lehnsherr’s apartment, into Erik’s room with him. While Charles’ father had an apartment in the city that had been left to him and hadn’t been used in years, after many long, tense talks with Erik and Erik’s family, they’ve decided to spend the pregnancy and first few months in the family home, with Erik’s parents to help ease the adjustment and be on hand to help when needed. Charles had insisted on paying some rent, as a compromise, no matter how much the Lehnsherrs protested. 

The move had been exciting, if a bit strange. His mother had never planned on going to Columbia’s move-in day with Charles, which made things simpler, but Raven had, so she made the drive from Boston to help get Charles settled in and to meet her new de-facto family in law. Much to both Charles and Erik’s horror, Ruth and Raven had gotten along splendidly and even exchanged phone numbers, promising to keep in touch to come up with new ways to torment their little brothers together. After that rather hectic, but exciting day had passed, things became much more different than how Charles envisioned his year going. 

No lectures or papers or homework, for starters, which is sometimes an incredible relief, but leaves the door open to plenty of boredom on Charles’ side. Edie does a wonderful job of welcoming him into the home, though, and letting him be as involved in her day to day as he’d like, and Charles gets to finally read the long list of books he’s been saving since high school, so it’s not so bad. Besides, Erik is always there in the evenings and Charles forgets all about the brief moments he wishes he hadn’t deferred and moved in with the Lehnsherrs. 

Another countdown that’s been replaced is midterms. Mid-October no longer means the all-nighter study sessions Charles had envisioned. Mid-October now means the ultrasound appointment during which he and Erik will finally find out the sex of their baby. Charles has been looking forward to it since the moment they’d decided to keep the baby. He hopes, as well, that it will be something to push him forward, since with every passing week, the more and more he shows, the heavier everything weighs him down. Charles already feels like everyone stares at him when he goes out, and that he gets misgendered almost constantly. It won’t get any better any time soon and it makes it hard to find the energy to leave the house somedays. He’s been trying to take advantage of these last few weeks where it looks less like he’s pregnant and more like he’s put on a little extra weight, though, and he hopes getting to put a name to their child will be a bit of a boost on his mood. 

Erik schedules to take the day off when the appointment comes around, which is mostly a formality, considering that Jakob has been looking forward to this announcement just as much as they have and would probably have refused to let Erik come into work. On the day off, the both of them enjoy the rare lie in and breakfast between just the two of them, since Edie is off running errands. 

“Ready to find out if we’re having a David or an Anya?” Erik asks, grinning as he pulls his coat on so they can head out. 

Charles nods. “More than ready.”

They take the subway to Charles’ doctor, since freshmen at Columbia aren’t allowed to have cars on campus, and that’s where his mother still thinks he is. Charles knows she probably wouldn’t have even noticed a missing car from their garage, but it seems like a stupid thing to take chances over when the city isn’t too hard to get around on public transit. The doctor’s office is full of mostly expecting mothers, brimming with excitement as they thumb through maternity magazines or scroll through Pinterest. Erik is one of the only fathers present, which is hardly the only thing that makes them stick out. Bad enough that they’re obviously a pair of teenagers, even if most of them don’t know Charles is, in fact, a boy, he’s still rather obviously gender non-conforming, and it’s enough to get odd glances. 

The excitement makes it easy enough to ignore, though, and Charles checks in for his appointment, before sitting with Erik. They pass the time playing with a chess app on Erik’s phone, before they get called inside. Charles’ heart just about aches with love at the way Erik jumps up, more eager than any other expecting parent in this office. Erik has been unbearably endearing throughout this whole process. They get led back towards one of the examination rooms, where Charles goes through the motions and then sits and waits for a nurse to come attend them. 

One enters after a few moments, flipping through Charles’ record. She confirms, “Ms. Francine Xavier?” 

Normally, Charles would just wince and nod, but Erik is always a bit too eager to jump to his defence. “He goes by Charles and ‘Mr.’ and I know damn well it says so on that record, because I made sure to watch a nurse jot it down our first visit here. Get it right.” 

“Erik, darling, no need to bite anyone’s heads off,” Charles says, rubbing Erik’s arm as he shoots the nurse an apologetic glance. 

“Um, of course. I do see that note know. Apologies, Mr. Xavier. And you must be the father,” the nurse says, giving Erik a dubious look. He doesn’t exactly look like the most responsible of fathers, with his piercings and leather jacket and dark boots, but Charles knows better. He also knows a few dubious thoughts  Their first ultrasound appointment, Charles had overheard the technician wondering how many other children Erik had fathered, with no lack of racial undertones to her perception of him. Charles had made sure they switched medical providers immediately. 

“I am. And looking forward to knowing whether we’re having a baby boy or girl,” Erik said, grinning at Charles. He’s, thankfully, too dopey at these appointments to start too much trouble over the suspicious looks. 

“Well, let’s see if Baby decides to let us have a good look today.” 

Erik holds his hand the whole while, as they check up on the child’s growth and, since this is almost certainly a mutant, any sign of a tail or horns or ridges or any other unexpected physical developments. The nurse stops as they inspect some part of the baby, which Charles can never quite tell apart. But from the way she stops and grins at the pair of them, he has a good feeling that their child is currently flashing them. “Congratulations, you two are having a little baby boy.” 

“David!” Erik exclaims and a few tears escape him, which Charles is sure he’ll deny.

Charles grins and pulls Erik into a kiss. “David,” he repeats. 

They haven’t even taken two steps out of the office when Erik calls his parents to deliver the news, too excited to wait until dinner. Despite not being on speaker phone, Charles can hear how Jakob exclaims ‘I’m having a grandson, lads!’ to the other boys in the autoshop. When they call Edie, Charles insists on being in the call as well, so he doesn’t miss when she starts weeping with joy as well and, between endless congratulations, promises that she’ll engrave a few of the blankets she’s made with the baby’s name. 

  
  


llllllll

  
  


The pregnancy passes, somehow, both in a flash and at a complete crawl. On one hand, Erik is pretty sure that the week Charles wound up hospitalized with a severe bout of acid reflux had taken no less than a million years to pass by. On the other hand, he’d blinked and now, Charles is seven months pregnant. He’s noticeably so now, which fills Erik with clashing senses of joy and sympathy. He knows this isn’t easy for Charles. It wouldn’t be easy for anyone, but especially not Charles. 

At this point, Erik’s pretty sure Charles only ever goes out for his appointment, preferring to stay at home, where no one will misgender him or give him odd looks if he tries to introduce himself by his real name instead of his deadname. Erik understands it, of course, but he can’t help but worry. It seems none of his ideas or gentle suggestions to go outside are working these days. On a particularly nice day - nice, at least, for frosty January - Erik makes another attempt at getting Charles out of the house. He doesn’t have very high hopes. The more he thinks about it, the more he’s pretty sure Charles hasn’t left the house for anything other than an appointment since Hannukah. 

“Good morning, motek,” Erik says, leaning down to kiss him when he finds Charles awake and reading in bed after his morning shower. “Angel called me this morning. Everyone’s heading to get shakes and see a movie this afternoon. They called and asked if we wanted to join.”

Charles frowns. “I think… I’d rather… not.”

“I worry about you. You’ve barely left the house in ages. Don’t you get tired of being here all the time?” Erik asks, sitting at the edge of the bed and reaching to place a hand on Charles’ knee. 

“I know. I just - I know it’s silly, because I knew what I was signing up for and David will be worth it in the end, but it’s hard to be outside,” Charles admits. “Pregnancy is pretty much a woman’s thing and I just hate strangers looking and seeing just some pregnant teenage girl. I know it’s not exactly like I passed before, but it’s more frustrating now. More obvious” 

“Yes, well, for what it’s worth - even though it’s silly to have such stringent ideas of gender and you’d be a man even in long hair and dresses and make up - you’re much more masculine than you give yourself credit for. As for the people who can’t fathom anyone other than a cis woman being pregnant…. Fuck them. Our friends are all cool, anyway. You’re Charles and you always will be, no matter how big Davey is getting inside you,” Erik insists. 

He shakes his head. “It’s not our friends I’m worried about, Erik. I know they’re fine. That’s the only reason I ever let Angel talk me into that baby shower. It’s everyone else. It’s decidedly more difficult to ignore passing strangers when I can hear them in my head…” 

“I’m sorry, motek,” Erik mumbles, pulling Charles into a hug. No matter how much he knows and acknowledges the difficulties of this pregnancy, it’s not like he’ll ever actually be able to fully understand it. “What if we invited them for a night in? A compromise. That way you’re not cooped up in here along all day, but you don’t have to go out among strangers, either.” 

“Erik, I’m sure the last thing our friends want to trade for a night out is a few hours in an apartment with their socially anxious heavily pregnant friend.”

 

xxxxxx

 

A few hours later, Charles is called out of the room to find that Erik has strung up sheets to black out the windows, set up a projector for a movie night, and set up a rather elaborate burger building and dairy-free milkshake making station in the kitchen, for their friends to come by without sacrificing their movie and shakes night. Charles cries a bit - read: a lot - and blames it on the pregnancy hormones, but they both know it’s because of how much he loves Erik; all the time, but especially when Erik orchestrates some elaborate production to make him happy. 

Halfway through their marathon of cheesy black and white horror films, Emma stops him in the kitchen when Charles is making himself a strawberry milkshake. 

“Erik loves you and that baby a lot. Like… a disgusting amount of a lot,” she says, managing to look both endeared and put off at the same time. “I hope you know that.” 

“I’m never going to let him go,” Charles promises, smiling as he peeks out to their makeshift movie theater, where Erik is scattering popcorn all over the place in a food fight with Azazel and Janos. It won’t be perfect, but with Erik there, perhaps this last stretch before David arrives will be tolerable.

  
  


lllllll

  
  


As it turns out, the final stretch isn’t as long as either of had come to expect. David is as impatient to come to the world as his parents are to see him. Erik keeps a calendar by their bedside, tallying away weeks of Charles’ pregnancy and counting down to the due date. He’d only just crossed out Week 33 on the calendar a few hours earlier, when Charles wakes him in the middle of the night by grasping terrifyingly tightly at his bicep. Erik groans and sits up, turning their lamp on with his powers. 

“Charles, what’s wrong?” he asks. Erik gestures his phone to himself to check the time and is appalled to see it’s not even five yet. 

“Erik…” Charles’ voice is a trembling whisper, which is Erik’s first sign that this might be an eventful day. “Erik, I think David’s coming. Like… today.” 

“Shit. Shit, are you sure it’s not those, um, those practice contractions?” Erik is normally more adequate with all his pregnancy vocabulary - even his mother had teased him for how many pregnancy books and blogs he’d read - but he’s still half asleep. The other half is in full blown panic. 

Charles shakes his head. “I’m quite sure they’re not, because I can feel the slightest hint of another mind’s presence starting to make itself known. It’s actually quite fascinating, if I weren’t so scared.” 

“Okay. Okay, cool, let’s do this. We’re fine, right? Totally prepared.” Erik laughs nervously, standing up and scrambling through the room for their hospital bag. Thank Gd, his mother had insisted they have a bag prepared ever since Charles hit his thirtieth week, as a precaution. 

“We probably have a little while before we need to go to the hospital,” Charles reminds him, getting up out of their bed and waddling to their closet to pick out something cozy for the ride over. “At least enough to have some breakfast here. Your mother would probably want us to wake her anyway.” 

“My mother would kill us if we left to the hospital without warning her. And Papa would help,” Erik agrees. He turns on the hallway lights as he goes to set the hospital bag down next to the front door. While Charles is getting dressed, Erik goes to his parents’ bedroom door. He’s a little less bothered by walking around the house in nothing but pyjama bottoms, for obvious reasons. He knocks once, gently, before cracking open the door and sticking his head in. “Ma? The baby’s coming. Charles and I are going to have some breakfast and head to the hospital.” 

Miraculously, his mother wakes even faster than he does. In a flash, she has her lamp on, despite Jakob’s protests, and is pulling on her robe. “David’s coming? Oh goodness. I’ll get breakfast done for you, two, and then head straight to the hospital. It’s a bit early for him, still.” 

“We know,” he promises, following her out to the kitchen and leaving the bedroom door ajar. His father will join soon enough, he’s sure. 

Charles is already in the kitchen, standing by the island and looking as nervous as can be. Erik wants to hug him, but his mother beats him to it, wrapping him up in one of her hugs and covering his face in maternal kisses. “Oh, Schatz, you’re going to do wonderful, you’ll see. Nothing to worry about. And think, soon, you’ll meet David! That’ll be the most special moment for you, too. Oh, I still remember the first times I held Ruth and Erik. My heart had never been so full.” 

“Thank you, Edie. Just a bit of nerves, is all. I’m a nervous one, you know,” Charles says, trembling slightly less now as he nods. 

Jakob has joined them in the kitchen now, and he pats Charles’ back encouragingly. “I’ll drive you boys there. Erik looks like he can hardly stand.” 

“I’m fine!” Erik snaps back. He was, in fact, not fine at all. He’s nervous for Charles and David, of course, but mostly, he feels like he’s about to explode from the jitters and excitement. He’s going to be a father! He’s going to get to hold his son and kiss him and cuddle him and all those other mushy things that his friends would tease him endlessly for. Erik’s glad that he’s spent the last few months already bringing Charles with backrubs and midnight candy runs so he won’t tell anyone when Erik inevitably cries. 

“Whatever you say, son. Edie, Liebling, put some coffee on for me? Black.” Jakob takes a seat at the island, groaning when he finally sees what time it is. “Erik, your son is just as dramatic as you are. He couldn’t wait until 8? That’s a Lehnsherr, through and through.” 

“Oh, stop it.” Edie laughs, swatting her husband gently as she passes by him to grab some bread and jam. “Your father and I will make sure all the last minute things are done by the time you come back, so you two don’t need to worry about anything.” 

“Thanks, Ma,” Erik says. 

Charles nods in agreement. “You’re a lifesaver, Edie.” 

A few hours later, they’re in the room at the delivery ward, powering through contractions and counting down until they finally get David here with them. Erik is, perhaps, being a bit selfish to use a ‘we’ for the contractions, since it’s Charles stuck with the pain. But he likes to think that, perhaps, the hand holding he’s providing is helping; that the more bones Charles breaks in his hand, because Erik is positive his hand is broken, the less it pains Charles with each contraction. (He’s sure it doesn’t). 

It’s just them two in the delivery, something they’d decided on a long time ago. As much as they both love Erik’s parents and their sisters, Charles isn’t comfortable having anyone else around during this process. They’ll be there as soon as humanly possible once David is born, though, and Erik knows by then, Charles will welcome them all with open arms. For now, the hours pass by with just the two of them, making idle small chat or placing teasing bets on who David will look more like or playing chess. After a particularly nasty contraction, Charles tugs Erik down for the most aggressive kiss he’s ever received. 

When Erik is flustered and breathless, Charles leans up to mutter in his ear. “You are never, ever topping again.” 

Erik laughs, nodding. “Understood, babe.” 

In the early, early hours of the next day, though, Charles has forgotten all about his threats and Erik all about his allegedly broken hand. David Charles Lehnsherr was born just past two in the morning and, despite being early, strong and healthy and  _ loud.  _ He’s a little fighter, a Lehnsherr through and through, like his father had said. Charles is thinking out loud, wondering if perhaps the mutation has anything to do with it, but they won’t know for years what David’s mutation is and, regardless, this is their first time holding their son. There’s time for science later. 

Erik shushes him with a kiss and blinks back tears as he looks down at David. “Look at our little boy, Charles…” 

“I know,” Charles says. He leans his head against Erik’s shoulder and gazes fondly down at David. “I get what your mum meant now, about full hearts.” 

“Yeah… You definitely won the betting, by the way. Little guy’s the spitting image of you.” Erik laughs. He always used to make fun of parents who started talking about babies looking like anything in the first few days, when they looked more like angry little aliens than anything else. But he definitely sees it now. 

“Poor David.” Charles laughs. He grins up at Erik. “It’s not unusual for babies’ eyes to change color, but look how they are now. One blue, one green. That’s heterochromia, a mutation of the-”

Erik shuts him up with another kiss and this time, David gives him a helping hand, by choosing now to start screaming his tiny little lungs out. His family’s gotten just a little bit bigger today, but his heart certainly feels like it’s grown a million times. This is perfect, he thinks. Perhaps they hadn’t gotten here under the best of circumstances, but this? Being with Charles and their perfect little David? Erik wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

No matter how they got here. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you've enjoyed!
> 
> for questions, prompts, or chatting I can be found on tumblr at [sebbym17](http://sebbym17.tumblr.com/)


End file.
